Abstract: The talk will discuss how redshift space distortions due to the motion of galaxies affect a feature in the correlation function due to Baryon Acoustic Oscillations. The talk will also present results from analyzing the SDSS Main Galaxy Survey. We will discuss the impact of using unusual geometries in computing t…

Headlines around the world accompanied the announcement in March 2014 by the BICEP2 team that a specific swirly pattern of cosmic microwave background polarization called the B-mode was discovered on large angular scales. After evaluating and rejecting various systematic effects and Milky Way foreground emissions as the cause, the team, including Professor Barth Netterfield and graduate student…